Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche asked a federal judge to reverse his own block and allow construction on the White House ballroom to continue, arguing the project would help assure the safety of the first family and White House employees.
The filing with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia came late on the evening of April 27 after the April 25 shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner at the Washington Hilton Hotel.
The shooting suspect, Cole Tomas Allen, was arraigned in federal district court in Washington on April 27. Allen is charged with attempting to assassinate the president of the United States, transportation of firearms and ammunition with intent to commit a felony, and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence.
The construction also includes national security-related facilities, primarily underground, including for presidential emergency operations.
On March 31, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon issued a preliminary injunction halting construction as the lawsuit that the National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States filed to block the project plays out. Leon stayed the injunction for 14 days, which gave the federal government an opportunity to appeal. The National Trust argues that the president had no authority to move forward with the project under existing laws.
The National Trust is a private, charitable, educational nonprofit corporation chartered by Congress in 1949.
The project includes bulletproof windows and glass, along with a heavy steel, drone-proof roof, he said.
“With such a facility, it would have been impossible for an attack like that which took place last Saturday evening in D.C. when an attempted assassin, armed with a shotgun, pistol, and knives, charged through a security checkpoint at the Washington Hilton in an attempt to assassinate President Donald J. Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, and members of the President’s Cabinet and senior staff, during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.”
The court should never have blocked the project, and after the attempted assassination, “which could never have taken place in the new facilities, reasonable minds can no longer differ—the injunction must be dissolved,” he said.
The court should immediately end the injunction “and put an end to this frivolous lawsuit, which greatly endangers the lives of all Presidents, current and future.”
The Epoch Times reached out for comment to the National Trust. No reply was received by publication time.
The letter said the ballroom was needed because a venue such as the Washington Hilton was “demonstrably unsafe” for events featuring the president “because its size presents extraordinary security challenges for the Secret Service.”
“Put simply, your lawsuit puts the lives of the President, his family and his staff at grave risk.”
The letter said the government will ask the court to dissolve its injunction and dismiss the case if the group refuses to drop its suit.
Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-Minn.) said he would move for unanimous consent of “express approval for construction of a Presidential ballroom.”
Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) said he would file the proposed Build the Ballroom Act, and Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) said she and her team are in the process of drafting legislation to guarantee the project’s completion.
